Primary Outlook: Women Candidates in Hawaii

Kelly Dittmar

Gender Watch 2018From March to December 2018, the Barbara Lee Family Foundation (BLFF) and the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) partnered to offer Gender Watch 2018, which tracked, analyzed, and illuminated gender dynamics in the 2018 midterm elections. With the help of expert scholars and practitioners, Gender Watch 2018 furthered public understanding of how gender influences candidate strategy, voter engagement and expectations, media coverage, and electoral outcomes in campaigns. The blog below was written for Gender Watch 2018, as part of our collective effort to raise questions, suggest answers, and complicate popular discussions about gender’s role U.S. elections.

 

Ahead of the Hawaii primary election on August 11, 2018, we outline the numbers and proportions of women who have filed as candidates for congressional and statewide office. The data below also provide points of historical comparison to give context to today’s presence and potential success of women candidates.

All data are provided from the Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University. For a full list of the women candidates in Hawaii primary races for congressional and statewide offices, see CAWP’s Election Watch page.

CONGRESS

Current: 3 (3D) of 4 members of the Hawaii congressional delegation (75%)
Filed: 6 (5D, 1R)
Percent of all Filed Congressional Candidates (D/R): 27.3% (6 of 22)

SENATE

Current: 1 of 2 senators

  • Incumbent U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D) is running for re-election this year. She is the first woman senator from Hawaii.

Filed: 2 (1D, 1R)

  • Incumbent U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D) is running for re-election. She is unopposed in the Democratic primary, ensuring that she will be the first woman of color nominee for the U.S. Senate this year.
  • Consuelo Anderson is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Hirono this fall.

Percent of all Filed Senate Candidates (D/R): 22.2 (2 of 9)
Percent of all Filed Democratic Senate Candidates:  100% (1 of 1)
Percent of all Filed Republican Senate Candidates: 12.5% (1 of 8)

HOUSE

Current: 2 of 2 representatives (100%)

  • Current Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D) is running for re-election this year, while incumbent Representative Colleen Hanabusa (D) is running for governor instead.

Filed:  4 (4D)

  • Incumbent Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D) is running for re-election this year and is being challenged by 2 Democrats – one woman and one man – in Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district.
  • 2 (2D) women are running for the Democratic nomination for Hawaii’s open seat in the 1st congressional district. They are 2 of 7 (28.6%) of all Democrats seeking the nomination.

* Of the 4 women candidates for the U.S. House in Hawaii, all identify as Asian/Pacific Islander.

Districts with Women Candidates:  2 of 2
Percent of all Filed House Candidates (D/R):  30.8% (4 of 13)
Percent of all Filed Democratic House Candidates:  40% (4 of 10)
Percent of all Filed Republican House Candidates: 0% (0 of 3) 

Recent history: The number of women who filed for major party candidacy for the U.S. House in Hawaii in 2018 is not a record high. Most recently, 7 (4D, 3R) women filed for the U.S. House in 2016.

GOVERNOR

Current: 0
One woman has served as governor of Hawaii: Linda Lingle (R, 2003-2011)

Filed:  2 (1D, 1R)

  • Current U.S. Representative Colleen Hanabusa is one of 5 candidates challenging incumbent David Ige for the Democratic nomination for governor.
  • Republican Andria Tupola is one of 2 candidates seeking the Republican nomination.
  • Both women candidates for governor identify as Asian/Pacific Islander.

Percent of all Filed Gubernatorial Candidates (D/R):  25% (2 of 8)
Percent of all Filed Democratic House Candidates:  20% (1 of 5)
Percent of all Filed Republican House Candidates: 50% (1 of 2)

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

Current: 0

Filed:  3 (2D, 1R)

  • All three women running for Hawaii’s open lieutenant governor seat identify as Asian/Pacific Islander.

Percent of all Filed Lieutenant Governor Candidates (D/R): 42.9% (3 of 7)
Percent of all Filed Democratic Lieutenant Governor Candidates: 50% (2 of 4)
Percent of all Filed Republican Lieutenant Governor Candidates: 33.3% (1 of 3)

Kelly Dittmar headshot

Kelly Dittmar

Kelly Dittmar is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Rutgers–Camden and Director of Research and Scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics at the Eagleton Institute of Politics. She is the co-author of A Seat at the Table: Congresswomen’s Perspectives on Why Their Representation Matters (Oxford University Press, 2018) (with Kira Sanbonmatsu and Susan J. Carroll) and author of Navigating Gendered Terrain: Stereotypes and Strategy in Political Campaigns (Temple University Press, 2015).

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